Meat and Corn Bread Squares

It doesn't look that great, but this was the rest of the dinner after the first night.

This recipe was another good one. I had to tone the spiciness of the meal because of the young girls, but it was still good. If I was going to make this again, I might cut the recipe in half and then make half spicy and half mild. If you like corn bread and a meat filling that taste tacoish, then this would be a good one to try. It didn't take that long and it didn't have too many ingredients.

Grade A-

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 Tbs cornstarch

1 Tbs dried minced onion

1 to 2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 14 1/2 oz can tomatoes, cut up

1 4 oz can diced green chili peppers drained

3/4 c all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

2 beaten eggs

1 8 1/2 oz can cream=style corn

1/2 c milk

3 Tbs cooking oil

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a large skillet cook meat till brow. Drain off fat. Stir in cornstarch, onion, chili powder, and garlic salt. Stir in undrained tomatoes and chili peppers. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. (I didn't add chili peppers and not all of the chili powder).

2. In a mixing bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. In another bowl combine eggs, corn, milk, and oil. Stir egg mixer into dry mixture. Add cheese. Stir just till moistened.

3. Spread half of the batter into a greased 2 qt rectangular baking dish. Spoon meat mixture atop. Top with remaining batter. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 30 min or till golden brown. Let stand for 5 min to serve, cut into squares. If desired, pass salsa.

And believe it or not, Anna did enjoy her dinner, after her melt down.

Emily after a rough chiropractor appt.

Sarah enjoying her food.

Lucy eating away

Anna having a pre-dinner fit, how adorable

Tortellini, Chicken, and Vegetables/ Green Beans with Cream Sauce

These two meals both turned out wonderful. I prepared this meal on a Sunday because I would have the most time to cook, but it only took me a little over an hour to make both dishes. The Lucy didn't "dig" the food to much. However, she hasn't enjoyed very much today. The main dish was very bright and colorful. Anna said it looked like a rainbow. The sauce that went with the green beans was amazing. I am going to look to use the sauce in some other meals in the future. The Tortellini was easy and I doubled the recipe so it would be plenty for two nights worth. The recipe that is below is not doubled (just a warning). Also, I used fresh green beans and milk in the green bean dish.

Grade: A

Tortellini, Chicken, and Vegetables

1/2 c chopped onion

1 Tbs margarine or butter

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 c dry white or red wine

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 9 oz package refrigerated fresh cheese-filled tortellini

2 c loose-packed frozen mixed vegetables

2 c chopped cooked chicken

1 Tbs cornstarch

1/4 c cold water

1. For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in margarine or butter till onion is tender but not brown. Add undrained tomatoes, wine, thyme, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook tortellini according to package directions, except stir in frozen vegetables along with tortellini. Drain cooked tortellini and vegetables; keep warm.

3 Stir chicken into sauce. Combine cornstarch and water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Pour sauce over tortellini and vegetables; toss well to coat. Makes 4 main dish servings.

Green Beans with Sherry Cream Sauce

1 lb green beans (fresh) or two 9-oz packages frozen cut green beans

1/2 c sliced fresh mushrooms

1/4 c chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs margarine or butter

1 Tbs all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper

1/4 c bee broth

1/4 c milk
2 Tbs dry sherry, dry white wine, or beef broth

1. cut fresh green beans into 1 inch pieces. Cook fresh green beans, covered in a small amount of boiling water for 20-25 minutes or till crisp-tender. (or, cook frozen beans according to package directions.) Drain; return beans to saucepan.

2. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan cook and stir mushrooms, onion, and garlic in margarine or butter about 4 minutes or till tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Carefully add beef broth and half-and half all at once. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in sherry. Stir sauce into cooked beans in saucepan; heat through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Sarah trying to excape

Emily, actually enjoying her dinner for once.

Anna trying to figure out how to get the food to fly out of her bowl and into her mouth.

Lucy trying out the new horizonal drinking cup.

More Macaroni

Okay, this is the first repeat recipe to be on the blog. It is and it isn't. It is almost the same recipe as down below, the same ingredients, but I free handed the amount. I dumped the entire box of macaroni in and used 2 cups of milk with a spoonful of flour and a countless number of American cheese slices. The sauce wasn't setting up at all, so I added more cheese and some flour. It thickened up and when combined with the whole wheat noodles, it was great. There isn't any pictures, but it was thick and delicious. Also, we added diced ham to it.

Grade: B+

"Wet" Burritos

This is not an exciting post, and no pictures, but I figured that I haven't posted anything in a few weeks, so it here is a little something.

For my burritos, I took 1 lb of ground turkey and browned it with sliced tomatoes from our garden and very mild yellow peppers. The reason I added the tomatoes and peppers during the browning phase is because I find ground turkey dries out easily. After it was browned, I drained the liquid and added the taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cups of water mixed it all together and brought it to a boil.

While the meat was browning I set the oven to 350. Place the soft taco shells face up and fill them with the meat and sliced cheddar cheese. seal the burritos and place them in an 8x10 pan. Layer the top with shredded cheese and place in the oven until the cheese is melted. It's pretty simple and easy and that is why it was my quick meal for the week.

Grade: B

Macaroni and Cheese and Zucchini Cornbread

This is all that I got after all my girls were fed. Boo Hoo, luckily it is an easy meal to make again.

What an amazing meal. Everything was eaten by everybody. I do not like baked macaroni and cheese. I hate how dry it always is and crusty cheese top. But this mac/cheese tasted almost exactly like shells and cheese that you buy in the store. I knew that the food would be a big hit with Anna because that is one of the few things that she will always eat. Anna didn't "dig" the cornbread, but it was awesome! I should have taken a picture of Lucy after she shoved everything into her mouth area! The one complaint that I have about this dish is that we ate everything and did not have leftovers for the next day, not even for my lunch. The picture above is all that I got to eat. If you make this I would definately double it if you have more than three people eating it. Enjoy.

Grade: A+

Macaroni and Cheese
1 c dried elbow macaroni
¼ c chopped onion
1Tbs butter
1 Tbs flour
¼ c milk
1 ½ c shredded American cheese
1 medium tomato
1. Cook macaroni in unsalted water about 10 minutes or till tender but still firm
2. Meanwhile, for cheese sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in margarine or butter till milk all at once. Cook and stir till slightly thickened and bubbly. Add American cheese, stirring till melted. Stir in cooked macaroni. Transfer mixture to a 1-quart casserole.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or till hot and bubbly. If desired arrange tomato slices atop macaroni for the last 5 minutes of baking. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Cornbread
1 c coarsely chopped zucchini
1 c milk
½ c chopped onion
2 eggs
¼ c vegetable oil
1 ¼ c cornmeal
1 c all-purpose flour
2 Tbs white sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c shredded Cheddar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F Grease a 10-in cast-iron skillet, and place it into the oven while it preheats.
2. Place the zucchini, milk, eggs, onion, and vegetable oil into a blender, and pulse 5 to 8 times, until thoroughly mixed and the zucchini and onion have been chopped into very small pieces.
3. Mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Pour the zucchini mixture into the cornmeal mixture, stirring to combine, and gently mix in the Cheddar cheese.
4. Carefully pour the batter into the hot greased skillet, smooth it out with a spoon, and bake until the cornbread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Anna happily eating away.

Lucy before the macaroni exploded on her face.

Emily stuffing her face while Sarah drinks

Sarah deciding when to jump in

Weeknight Spaghetti and Meatballs

This was a quick meal from Rachael Ray's Comfort food cookbook. I cannot stand Rachael Ray, she bugs the hell out of me, but Jen had this book so I decided to look through it. Obviously, it took 30 minutes. Plus, I added garlic bread on a French loaf. The kids seemed to like it (of course Anna thought it looked awful and filled her plate with Ranch dressing). There are a lot of ingredients, but it is simple.

Grade: B

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1 egg beaten

1/2 small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c grated Parmesan

1/2 c Italian bread crumbs

Ground black pepper

1Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/2 c beef broth

1 can (28 oz)crushed tomatoes (I had know idea that they had "crushed tomatoes)

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 pinches dried oregano

3/4 lb spaghetti, cooked (I used a whole 13 oz box)

Combine meat, egg, onion, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, and little pepper in a bowl.

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in oil. Roll small balls and drop into hot pan. When all the meat is rolled and in a pan, give the pan a good shake and cover. Cook meatballs for 8 min, giving the pan a good shake frequently to keep meat from burning. If balls are browning too quickly, reduce heat a little.

Add broth and let reduce for 1 or 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and red pepper flakes, then oregano and parsley. Simmer until pasta is ready. Toss pasta with sauce and serve with garlic bread and grated cheese for topping.

I made garlic using butter and garlic salt. (Pretty complicated)

Anna adding her Ranch

Sarah looking very Beatleish

Lucy, picking a choosing what to eat (or throw on the floor)

Emily, nice and neat (tonight)

Chicken, Corn, and Tomato Skillet

This recipe was fast and good. Everyone ate it and enjoyed it. The chicken broth kept the chicken moist and added flavor to the basmati rice. I have never had/worked with basmati, and was pleasently surprised at the aroma and taste that exploded out of the rice. Also I steamed some squash from our garden. Below is the recipe and some quick pictures.

Directions:

1. Stir together 1 c chicken broth and 1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes, with juice in a large nonstick saute pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.

2. Stir in 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast haves, cut into 1/2 in pieces, 2/3 cup basmati rice, 1 c frozen corn, 1 tsp basil, and pepper to taste. When the liquid returns to a boil, reduce the heat to medium; cover, and cook for about 12 minutesor until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is done.

That's all!

Grade A-

Anna: Cheesing it up

Sarah looking cute while eating her hand.

Emily enjoying every minute

Lucy is having a hard time. :(